Manufactured products can be assigned lot codes and expiry dates to enable tracking of such products, particularly in the case of foods and medical goods. Such lot codes can be derived from the lot codes of components used in the manufacture of the products, and the date of manufacture. However, a wide variety of components and component lot codes can be encountered in a given manufacturing facility, depending on what is being manufactured or packaged at a given time, and on behalf of which entity the manufacturing or packaging is being undertaken. Current efforts to automate the generation of lot codes and expiry dates make inefficient use of computing resources and personnel.